


Tap TWICE

by Penguin_Tato



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23726605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Penguin_Tato/pseuds/Penguin_Tato
Summary: A virus outbreak has occurred in South Korea, a virus which seemingly kills its host in a matter of minutes...only to bring them back as undead. Among South Korea's rapidly declining population, 9 girls manage to escape to temporary safety from the undead and many other growing threats in this danger zone. Will they be lucky and survive long enough to be saved? Or will they die before even catching a glimpse of their hope in hell?Tap TWICE is a Twice AU fanfic which revolves around the 9 girls' points of view during a zombie apocalypse, the main character in this story being Son Chaeyoung, a college freshman majoring in visual arts.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	1. Red

_No matter which way I go, the floors are all red._

_Like walking down the red carpet._

_Only that it's extremely gruesome._

_Everyone is staring at me oh._

_Wait, those aren't people anymore..._

"Chaeyoung!" - A girl hissed.

"H-Huh??"

_Was it just a dream?_

"I get that I said I'd be on watch today, but it doesn't mean you can shout, geez. I took a peek through the window, you almost brought some of those things onto us." - She whispered, she looked a bit scared but at the same time used to having to deal with this situation.

"I'm sorry Tzuyu...I just had a bad dream. God, I wish this was just a dream." - I say helplessly as my eyes begin to get watery.

"Yeah, me too tiger..." - She said softly, as she gave me a warm hug. A hug I very much needed.

///

13 hours before...

_12 PM_

**Chaeyoung's POV**

I was alone in my art class. I was painting a model I adore a lot since I had free time. It was lunch and I wasn't really hungry. Besides, my friend and roommate, Tzuyu, was practicing for her baseball game, as she is the power hitter on her team. Since she was busy I didn't bother with lunch.

About 15 minutes later, one of the students at my school ran into the art room since he saw me there. He was holding an axe, I suppose he broke one of the cases nearby. He also had a bite mark on his arm. Kinda weird but I didn't think much of it except that we should take him to the nurse.

"H-H-Hey you! C'mon let's get out of here!" - He said, he seemed very pale.

"W-Who are you and why are you holding an axe??" - I responded, I'm sure he understood how alarmed I felt.

"L-Look, all you need to know is there are people who are going crazy in a classroom nearby. T-They're attacking each other...biting each other!!!" - He said frantically.

I was about to listen to him, when he suddenly fell to the floor, dropping his axe. I crouched down panicking over what I should do. Seconds later he started having a seizure, so I got up and grabbed the axe just in case what he said was true, and was about to go call for help when he suddenly got up. Something was different about him. He was as pale as a dead person, I could see his veins. And his eyes...I couldn't see fear anymore, they were just hazy...it scared me. He started trying to attack me, but I blocked him by pushing the axe handle onto his neck. I kicked him to the floor and hit him with the axe handle. I didn't know what was happening so I wasn't risking killing with that axe.

All of a sudden Tzuyu came rushing into the art room, a bag full of bats on her shoulder, must've been her teammates' bats. 

"God, why did you have to be specifically here, why here and why now of all times?!?" - She scolded me.

"W-What do you mean?" - I asked.

Are you still having a hard time catching up Chaeyoung? Look at that guy on the floor. Why did you knock him out? He attacked you didn't he?" 

She didn't wait for an answer. She grabbed my hand and we were about to leave when we heard a low growl coming from behind us. Tzuyu immediately took her bat and made me get behind her. She took a swing at whatever that thing was and cracked it's skull open, wow. I guess this is what people mean when they say you get superpowers from enough adrenaline.

"Right...So it is a double-tap rule huh?" - She mumbled to herself.

"We started walking outside quietly, making sure none of those things were near."

"Listen here, tiger. Do you know what double-tap is?" - She asked me. She saw my confused face and continued explaining.

"Okay Tiger, not all these things die with one hit to the head. Don't let your guard down around them, always check again. Tap twice okay?"

I just nodded. We then headed to our dorm which was nearby. There was still a lot of chaos since there was a lot of people running from the undead, so we had a pretty easy escape.

As soon as we arrived at the dorm, we hurriedly packed things we might need in our biggest backpacks and headed out, since the whole area near campus was clearly not safe due to the fact that a lot of students attended that school. 

_It all happened way too fast. I couldn't even contact my family. I hope they're okay..._

///

_ 12 PM _

**Tzuyu's POV**

This bullshit happened way too fast. I was lucky to have my baseball bat at the time.

I was practicing for my baseball game next week with some of my teammates and a few male friends. I was in batter position as usual. The pitcher threw the ball, I hit it, it went pretty far but it was still in sight. Turns out it hit a woman that was walking to the school. She was wearing what used to be a white shirt. It wasn't white anymore, it was tainted in red...tainted in blood...My immediate thought when the ball hit her was "Fuck, did I just kill her?", that would have been much better than what actually happened.

The team and I ran to the woman, who had fallen from the hit. We were about to call an ambulance, especially since she had a bite mark near her shoulder. I'm sure all of us wondered "God, how did she survive so long without bleeding to death.", although she was very pale, like, I could see her veins. When my friend Juwoon got out his phone, the woman started getting back up. He grabbed her asking if she was okay, but she didn't answer. It didn't answer. After "it" came to its senses, it attacked Juwoon, tearing part of the flesh from his neck. It was such a horrifying scene to watch. My other male friend reacted almost immediately and kicked "her" off, and after, that Juwoon collapsed. One of the girls on my team grabbed her from behind to restrain her from attacking anyone else. Little did they know this thing wasn't even human anymore. It bit the hand of the girl who was holding her back. That thing came running at me, but I reacted quickly and hit its head. I slaughtered it, hitting it over and over again until I was sure it was dead. My teammates and friends looked at me like I was crazy, even though we already had two people who had collapsed because of that thing. They both started having a seizure and my teammates gathered around them trying to think of what to do. I didn't dare go near them. Then, they got up. Why couldn't we have just started running as soon as we saw this thing?? If we ran, we'd probably all still be alive. Now only I'm left out of those people.

As soon as I saw the rest of them being attacked, I heard screams inside the school and realized Chaeyoung was still inside. I knew she would be in the art room, so I rushed to the bench to grab the extra bats we had and ran like I never have before. When I found her she was holding an axe, a man collapsed behind her. I rushed her for us to get out of there, but then the thing got up again. I quickly put Chaeyoung behind me as I grabbed my best bat. One hit to the head and its head was cracked open. I guess this is what adrenaline does to me. I then remembered that Chaeyoung had probably knocked it out with the blunt end of the axe the first time around.

"Right...So it's a double-tap rule huh?" - I murmured to myself. I then explained what I was talking about to Chaeyoung, and we escaped to our dorm, where we packed everything we might need or might be useful later on.

_I just wish I can see my mom one last time..._

///

Present time...

_ 1 AM _

**Chaeyoung's POV**

Tzuyu pulled away from the hug and wiped my tears, even though she was crying too.

"Go back to sleep unnie, I'll be here so you have no need to be afraid of sleeping."

Wow, I still can't believe she's younger than me. She seems like the older one a lot of the time. She comes off as very cold to others, but as soon as you get to know her, she is the most warm-hearted person ever.

I smiled at her and was about to sleep when suddenly, we heard gunshots a few blocks away. Those gunshots attracted all the stragglers around the area we were taking shelter in. Normally, we would run, but it was the middle of the night, so we were at a disadvantage.

Then, the doorknob from the place we were staying in started to turn. Tzuyu hid behind the door with her bat, not knowing whether those things know to open doors or not.

Through the creek of the door, I saw a girl peeking in, she couldn't see me though. Tzuyu was about to throw a hard hit at her when I hissed at her to stop, and so she did. The girl seemed startled as the bat was very close to her face. 

Tzuyu put her bat down and apologized.

"But, who the hell are you?! Are you carrying any weapons? If you are, you better hand them over so we can have a talk first." - I never knew Tzuyu could be this aggressive, but in cases like this, it's very much appreciated.

The girl's face was covered by her hair, so I couldn't really see who she was.

"Are you gonna answer my question?" - Tzuyu repeated, slowly lifting up her bat.

The girl brushed her hair out of the way as she lifted her face.

"Do high heels count as a weapon?" - She said jokingly, though clearly scared.

_Holy shit..._

_N-No way..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, hope you're all doing well! So, as some of you might know, I decided to start this work a few months back, and well I was rather unsatisfied with it honestly. I decided to revise and rewrite with a (I'd say) significantly better story, as things felt too easy for the main characters in the first version.
> 
> I really hope you guys enjoy reading this! It took me quite a bit to get back at it lmao.
> 
> \- Penguin Tato


	2. Hide & Seek

13 hours before...

_ 12 PM _

**Unknown's POV**

I was attending a modeling event when it all went down, it was about 12:15 PM. I was getting finishing touches done on my makeup before walking on the runway. I stepped out of the curtains and the spotlight was on me. as I was reaching the edge of the runway, about 5 people came running in shouting at us to get out through the back door. Soon, people started running into the building, but these people looked different...they looked dead, but they were somehow still running. They began attacking people at the event. Eating them...I could only stand there and watch in horror. I'm lucky that my female bodyguard reacted so quickly. As soon as she realized what was happening, she jumped onto the runway and led me backstage so we could escape through the back door, as we left I saw my managers being gruesomely torn apart by those things. I took off my high heels to be able to run while my bodyguard kept watch and we headed outside. We ran for about 5 minutes until we came to an alleyway, which seemed relatively safe. 

"Ms. Myoui." - My bodyguard called.

"You can just call me Mina now...If any of those things are in other places of Korea, I doubt titles will get you into trouble at this point."

"Uh, right. Mina, I just want to tell you this right now while I have the chance. If I happen to not make it and you do, please remember this. These things seem to attack anything that is moving in its sight. I noticed that while indoors, some went backstage, but since it was dark they didn't attack anyone unless they were right in front of them. So listen to me when I say this if, you find yourself having to survive on your own soon, run from them for a while, then hide somewhere where they won't see you. If you can, stay at a safe place during the day, and then move out at night."

"Unnie, how did you figure all of that out so soon?" - I asked, as I didn't even know what just happened back there.

"Mina, I'm your bodyguard. I'm used to watching people's behaviors. Bodyguards don't always need to have a gun in order to have some tricks up their sleeves. Not like I like using my gun anyways."

"It sucks that you don't have it with you right now. Now is when we could really use it." - I said while looking at the floor.

She grabbed my hand and we continued walking. Only a few minutes later, one of the worst things that could ever happen to me occurred. We were still in the alleyway when someone came out of the back door to a restaurant with at least 6 undead behind him, my bodyguard and I started running but one of those things caught up to her and bit her. She stopped running and told me to keep going while she held them back. Seoyeon was a hell of a woman. She was like a sister to me. Why did she have to leave me all alone?

I continued running as I didn't want her sacrifice to be in vain. I soon came across a good hiding place and stayed there without making noise. I remembered what Seyeon told me so I decided to wait for nightfall. 

///

I checked my phone for the time. It was about 1 AM. Oh and my phone still had signal, something worth noting. I started slowly moving through the city, hiding when I saw one of those things. I was playing a gruesome game of hide & seek, with things that didn't even remember what that is. After about 10 minutes of walking, one was very close to spotting me, but I got to it first. I pierced its neck first with one of the high heels I was holding and began piercing through its skull as soon as it collapsed as if my life depended on it, which it actually kind of did. I walked for a bit longer and heard someone shouting. At first, I thought someone was being attacked by one of those things, but then I realized that it was coming from a small house nearby. They had shut off all the lights and were right next to a small store. Whoever was in that house is smart and is lucky to be right next to a store. For a second I could have sworn I saw someone take a peek out the window.

***BANG***

"A gunshot?" - I whispered myself.

It sounded like a shotgun. God, at first a shotgun or just a gun, in general, didn't sound like a bad idea, but seeing those things start running to the place where the noise came from made me change my mind. I think I'm better off with my high heels and playing hide & seek. I took the opportunity to approach the house and maybe convince them to let me stay for a while. It seems they forgot to lock the doors, so I just stepped in. 

I had only taken a few steps inside when I heard someone hiss "wait". I soon realized what was happening. There was a baseball bat about an inch or two away from hitting my face.

///

Present time...

"Are you gonna answer my question?" - The girl replied, slowly lifting her bat again.

I tucked my hair behind my ears to get it out of my face, and lifted it to face her.

"Do high heels count as a weapon?" - I tried to joke, hoping the shakiness in my voice wasn't evident.

"H-H-Holy shit!" - A short girl who was standing in a corner said.

We started hearing faint growling and remembered that I was still at the doorstep. The rather tall girl who was holding the bat pulled me inside as soon as she heard and locked the door. 

"Tiger, turn the light off! It's dim but it might let them know of our presence with all the noise." - The girl hissed.

She then took a peek through the window and heaved a heavy sigh.

"We were so close to being a late-night snack. Anyways, I suppose they don't count. Answer my other question. Who. Are. You?" - She asked, I didn't blame her for how aggressive she was acting, considering the circumstances. Seoyeon would have done the same. Seoyeon...

"Tzuyu, you still don't know who she is??" - The small asked.

"Am I supposed to?" - Tzuyu asked, clearly giving 0 fucks.

"The paintings, Tzuyu..."

"Oh right! Her. What what's her name again?" - She seemed to give at least 1 fuck now.

"Uh...I don't like interrupting conversations, but I feel I should introduce myself right about now. I'm Myoui Mina. It's-or should I say it would be a pleasure to meet you if only this wasn't happening." - I finally answered her question.

"Oh that right, it's Mina. By the way, I have reasons to believe my friend has a big crush on you. That small cub-looking girl over there keeps painting or drawing you whenever she gets free time." - And back to 0 fucks.

"Tzuyu, just because I have a favorite model to use for pieces doesn't mean I like her like that. Anyways, I'm Son Chaeyoung, and that giant next to you is Chou Tzuyu."

Seems like they have a good relationship with each other.

"Call me a giant one more time and I'll throw you outside with those things." 

Or not? The fact that she said that so emotionlessly is scary...

"Aw, we both know you can't do that Tzuyu." - She said teasingly. How can she even tease in times like these?

"Go back to sleep or whatever-wait never mind, don't. You'll bring them to us if you end up screaming again."

"It's not like I wanted to sleep anyways. I was wanting to ask Ms. Myoui how she survived. So, how did you survive? I know you were supposed to be modeling on a runway today." - The small girl said. Seems like she keeps updated pretty well.

"Please, call me Mina, Chaengie. And well. It was all thanks to my bodyguard, Seoyeon."

"Where is unnie??" - She looked down immediately as she saw my eyes start to get watery.

I decided to tell her the full story. Tzuyu suddenly softened up telling us not to leave her side while she kept watch, so we sat on the floor right next to her, and began exchanging our stories. Eventually, Chaengie fell asleep and surprisingly didn't have any nightmares anymore like Tzuyu had mentioned earlier. After a while I fell asleep too. I wanted to stay up with Tzuyu but she said that we'd be moving out tomorrow so she needed us to be very alert since she'd probably be a little tired. 

_How I wish this was all a dream._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haiii guys! I was supposed to update sooner, but I spent so many hours that I could have used to write about 3 more chapters, trying to fix something I had been having trouble with instead. And in the end, I suppose didn't even do it correctly so I gave up lol .  
> Enjoy reading!
> 
> -Penguin Tato


	3. Run

_Run by Bangtan Boys huh?_

_I guess my phone was trying to tell me something._

"So, Ms. Park, I wanna know, how did you even survive so long? I mean I know that high school had tons of kids attending it. I mean it's possible, but you didn't even have a weapon."

"You don't need to be honorific with me, not anymore. As of now, my title isn't really valid. Anyways, it's called strategy, kid. Did you forget that I used to be a coach?" - The woman said.

_Right, coach...Not like it even matters anymore, with everything that's happening. In all my years as a high school basketball coach, I never thought my life would be in danger because of a student. Or at least, what looked like a student._

"Can you tell us about it, Jihyo?" - They asked.

"Uh, I guess so." - Jihyo answered.

**Jihyo's POV**

9 hours before...

_ 12 PM _

"Dashi run run run" - I sang to myself as I walked around campus while eating a sandwich during lunch. I had stopped by the nurse's office since I'm friends with the nurse. I wanted to say hi, but she wasn't really there."

_I wonder where she went._

It was a rather quiet day, so it felt a little weird when it got noisy. People were making a ruckus outside screaming bloody murder. I was about to go scold them when a boy came into the office limping, it was a senior. He looked a bit pale and had a bite mark on his calve. I wanted to help but I didn't know what to do, I couldn't get an ambulance to come since they were for some reason extremely busy. God, she couldn't pick a worse timing to be out. She was probably smoking a cigarette somewhere.

A few seconds passed and the boy collapsed onto the floor. He started having a seizure. I tried calling the ambulance again but it seems the lines were busy. I knew about seizures since some of the students have had them before when I was around. I took off the hoodie I was wearing and used it to cushion his head and moved anything that could be a hazard, I also loosened his uniform tie a bit. I waited, as I looked at my watch, timing how long the seizure lasted, but then, he stopped moving...I checked his pulse, nothing. It hadn't even been past 3 minutes, he showed no signs indicating that he was in grave danger during the seizure. I didn't know what to do. I was so panicked at the thought that a student died right in front of me, "I should have done more" is what I told myself. Little did I know that this student would get up again...

I crouched in a corner, my eyes fixed on the student that just died under my supervision. All of a sudden, my phone started ringing. It was my friend, the nurse.

"H-Hello?" - I asked, the shakiness in my voice was very evident.

"J-Jihyo!!" - The woman on the other line said.

"What is it?"

"L-Listen to me carefully. Run. Run away from here and find a good hiding place. Somewhere high or with a door." - The nurse said, I was extremely confused when she said that.

"What do you-" - I stopped, as I caught the student's finger twitching in the corner of her eye.

"H-Hey, are you okay?" - I asked the student.

"Who are you talking to?" - The nurse asked.

"A boy collapsed in your office, he pretty much died for a few seconds, he has a bite mar-"

"Jihyo, run away from there, now!"

"Why? It's just a stude-"

"That THING isn't a student anymore!"

"What do you even-"

The student all of a sudden threw himself at me. I was still confused on what was happening, but by what my friend was just telling me and the fact that this student who was dead is now attacking me, I had no choice but to listen to her. I kicked the student off right before he bit me and ran outside, closing the door. I stopped for a minute as he didn't follow me after that.

"Does it not know how to open doors?" - I asked myself.

I soon saw more of those things in the hallway, and so I started running.

_Dashi run run run_

There were so many of those things outside, chasing the students and staff. The number of people decreasing while the number of those things only increased. I did as my friend told me and ran from the school as fast as I could. Some of those things came chasing me, but I lost them as soon as I jumped over a car in the street. I soon came across a cop car, someone had popped the trunk open. They probably took one or two of the guns in here and some ammo. 

"Thoughtful of them to leave some for me" - I said as I took two handguns, along with a police belt pouch and some ammo. I then went to check the inside of the car. I found a walkie and a small drop leg pouch.

"Seems like I got lucky huh?"

I ran for about 5 minutes and I was eventually going to turn, but when I did, I saw two kids, probably in their early 20s, running in my direction. One of the girls who had short hair had a gun, she was startled for a minute and pointed her gun at me, but after she realized I was human, she grabbed my hand and started running. I didn't even notice that about 8 of those things were chasing us. When we were at about a 6-meter distance, we both stopped and tried shooting those things while the other girl stood behind the short-haired girl. We shot two of them in the head once, they fell but got back up almost immediately.

"What the actual fuck?!" - I said, as the short-haired girl grabbed my hand again and we continued running.

I spotted what looked like a small warehouse. We ran in its direction and closed it before whatever those things were could catch up. We stayed quiet as we made sure to search the area. Judging by all the clothing and boxes, it was probably a clothing warehouse. We had completed our searching. The area was clean.

I heaved a heavy sigh.

"Today is my most lucky yet unlucky day." - I said. The warehouse was quite cold so I looked around for a hoodie, as mine was still in the nurse's office.

"So, who you are? What intentions do you have?" - The short-haired girl asked.

"Jeongyeon, why would you even ask that? She was clearly running away, just like us." - The other girl said.

"But she has a gun and all that stuff." - She responded.

"Yeah, so what? We do too. She probably came across that same cop car as us."

"That cop had probably decided to abandon their post and flee. Too bad for them that they crashed..." - She mumbled to herself.

"Nayeon, you're ignoring the point here, she has a gun and we don't know her."

I noticed that I still had my gun out. I put the safety on it and holstered it. Then I finally introduced myself.

"My name is Park Jihyo. I am, or was, a basketball coach at XX school. I was running away from the school when I bumped into you guys."

"Oh, I see. Sorry for being so aggressive with the questions...I just can't afford to let me or my friend get hurt. We're probably all we have now..." - She said as her eyes got watery and her voice got shaky. Her friend hugged her to comfort her. She sniffled a bit and continued.

"I'm Yoo Jeongyeon. The brat that has been hiding behind me this whole time, despite having a gun too, is Im Nayeon."

"Just because I have a gun doesn't mean I know how to shoot it." - Nayeon protested.

"Ugh. Just watch how I reload it. After that, all that really matters is that you're able to handle the recoil. Also don't forget to have it on safety when you're not using it."

Jeongyeon seems like a sweet girl, she's probably just panicked at the moment with everything that's happening.

///

Present time...

"So, Ms. Park, I wanna know, how did you even survive so long? I mean I know that high school had tons of kids attending it. I mean it's possible, but you didn't even have a weapon."

"You don't need to be honorific with me, not anymore. As of now, my title isn't really valid. Anyways, it's called strategy, kid. Did you forget that I used to be a coach?"

"Can you tell us about it, Jihyo?" - They asked.

"Uh, I guess so." - I answered. 

I had some protein bar's in my sweatpants pockets. I always carried at least 4 around in case I didn't have time for lunch. In case you're wondering, yeah, the pockets of my sweatpants were big. I'm surprised the bars didn't fall out. The last meal we all probably had was at around 12 PM, so my guess is they were also hungry. I took one and gave the last 3 to them.

"But Jihyo, what if you get hungry?" - Nayeon asked.

"I'm just one person, it's fine." - I answered her.

I began telling my story after I ate my protein bar. After that, I asked them about their's.

_Should this day be considered lucky? Or unlucky? I have no idea._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if anything in this chapter sounds kinda eh. I had a plan I wanted to go with but ended up changing it up again. Not sure which plan worked better but I thought this made more sense.
> 
> Have fun reading and get enough sleep lol
> 
> -Penguin Tato


	4. Hired Gun

_The dog really did seem like just a dog._

_ 1 AM _

I still can't believe this is happening...I mean, I have covered health/pandemic/epidemic related things before, but still, this is just so unbelievable. _-_ I thought to myself.

"I'm still sorry if I startled you guys earlier, Ms. Kim and Ms. Minatozaki" - A girl with blonde hair tied into a ponytail apologized.

"It's okay, you were only doing your job. At least now we understand why they sent you there." - Answered one girl. She somehow resembled a Shiba Inu. She shivered.

"I'm also sorry that we have to stay in such a cold place." - The girl with blonde hair removed her coat and handed it to the Shiba Inu lookalike.

14 hours ago...

_11 AM_

**Dahyun's POV**

When I was in my office discussing things with my colleagues and sorting out who would cover which cases with the boss. I was a bit disappointed when I wasn't allowed to cover the leakage that happened a few hours ago at a well-known biotech company nearby. I wasn't really given any work until we heard a tip from a close friend working in the local police department, a story of a vet being bitten by a rabid dog. It wasn't such an interesting story until we heard the owner had taken the dog for a walk near a creek...the creek where the leakage happened. I should also mention that this leakage had happened a few days ago, but the biotech company dried the creek a day after the leakage happened.

I honestly don't know where I would have rather been at the moment.

I and my team soon arrived at the scene, which was the vet clinic. I spotted the dog owner and asked her for an interview, she agreed and so we started shooting while we waited for the arrival of the top vet in Seoul, and the owner of this vet clinic. Something to note; There was a weird person with two holstered guns. She had blonde hair, a green jacket and was scouting around the area.

_This makes this whole thing all the more suspicious._

"This is Kim Dahyun reporting from the Tozaki Veterinary Clinic. We are here today after receiving reports about a "rabid" dog biting one of the vets. While the vet claims he got a rabies vaccine due to the field he works in, this dog owner is still rather concerned, however, it is not due to the rabies. Tell us your story please, Ms. XX" - I said as she neared the microphone to the woman's face.

"Well you see, I came to the vet after my dog started showing mild signs of rabies, despite having gotten the shot. He wasn't acting aggressively when I brought him, but when it was time for the appointment, he started having a seizure. He bit the vet in the process. After my dog stopped having a seizure, he became extremely aggressive and had to be put down due to this." - She stops as her voice gets shaky. She then clears her throat.

"I suggested to take the vet to the clinic as it was my fault he got bitten, but he refused, saying he makes sure to get rabies shots in case this ever happens. It's only when I stepped out of the clinic that I realized about the laboratory leakage. That leakage...I went to walk my dog there the other day, he drank water from that creek..." - She didn't really know what to say after that, so I continued.

"I see. This leaves us with a question, 'Is this just a case of a rabid dog, or is it much more than that?' Kim Dahyun reporting from the Tozaki Veterinary Clinic, we'll be back shortly." - I said, and the cameras stop rolling for the time being.

**Third-person POV**

A few minutes pass, and the owner of the clinic arrives. She goes in to talk to the vet who was previously bitten by the dog.

"Baby, let's go to the hospital please, I know you get shots in case this happens but you look really pale. Please, it doesn't hurt to check." - A girl told the man, it seems she's the man's girlfriend.

Sana steps in and begins scolding the man.

"Yongjin, I know how clumsy you can be, even more than me. Be lucky it was a small dog. Do as your girlfriend is telling you and go to the hospital. I will pay for your hospital bill, so go." - She knew this doesn't sound like a scold, but she didn't really want to be hard on her employee when he just got bit by a rabid dog. 

"But boss, it's not really a big deal, I can handle this." - He insisted.

"If you don't go to the hospital by the time I'm done handling the reporter outside, you'll be in big trouble." - She said, clearly tired of his persistence regarding this.

She then stepped out and headed to where Dahyun was.

**Dahyun's POV**

I saw her walking towards me, she probably knew why I was here already. I just wanted to throw this in there, the top vet in Seoul is much prettier in person. Anyways, she arrived and we introduced ourselves.

"Hello, I'm Minatozaki Sana, how may I help you?"

"Hello Ms. Minatozaki, I am Kim Dahyun. I'm sure you are well aware of why I am here."

"Of course, the articles about the leakage right?" - She asked. She was so nice even though it probably bothered her that we even dared connect the leakage to what happened at her clinic.

"Right, will you mind telling your story then?" - She asked, Sana agreed and so the cameras started rolling.

///

A few minutes later...

"So personally, what do you think about the whole thing? I mean you've just told us everything based on what you heard right?"

"Uh, right. Well, there was nothing special about the dog. The dog really did seem like just a dog. The dog was just a dog."

_Did she just say the same thing three times???_

"It was presenting signs of rabies, and I think that's all there is to it. My employee said he got his pre-exposure rabies shot recently since as you know, it's kind of a need in our field. Despite that I am sending him to the hospital to get the bite checked. That is all I have to say."

"Right, thank you for your time Ms. Min-" - Another staff member ran to Sana and cut Dahyun off.

"Ms. Minatozaki, Yongjin has collapsed! We already called an ambulance but I think you should come see him." - The staff member said.

Ms. Minatozaki rushed inside, and I stayed in place to report the happening events along with the staff member who stayed in her place.

"This just in: The vet mentioned earlier, who was bitten by a rabid dog that, allegedly drank water from the creek where the leakage took place, has just collapsed due to unknown reasons. An ambulance has been called and should be arriving shortly." - I said, and the staff filled us in on more details.

**Sana's POV**

It was 11:21 AM, I walked into the room where Yongjin was previously resting in, and I see him on the floor having a seizure. His girlfriend was right next to him. She didn't really know what to do. I told her to find something to cushion his head with as I moved away all hazards.

"God Yongjin, you should have just listened right away." I mumbled as my voice got shaky.

The ambulance arrived 8 minutes later and took him. I followed them outside but then remembered I should stay and handle the press, as more reporters would probably arrive after this incident. His girlfriend went with him instead. Right before they loaded him onto the ambulance his girlfriend started panicking because his seizure stopped, but he wasn't breathing anymore. A few seconds passed and he gasped for air. Ms. Kim and I just stood there, taken aback by the scene.

"Sir, are you okay? How do you feel?" - One of the paramedics said as they started loading him on. Not too long after the paramedic said that, Yongjin attacked his girlfriend and the paramedic. He bit them and they started having a seizure as well, only to get up some seconds later. Then, I felt someone grab my arm and take me and Dahyun. It was a woman with blonde hair, she had a green jacket and two holstered guns along with a tactical duty belt and some pouches strapped onto her thighs. She also had an ID although I didn't recognize where it was from.

We both reacted simultaneously, pushing her away. She grabbed our arms again and kept trying to rush us to someplace.

"W-What are you doing?? - Dahyun asked.

"There's no time to explain, all you have to know for now is it's not safe here anymore."

I looked back at the scene, and decided I might as well listen to her. Since I didn't protest anymore, Ms. Kim didn't either.

///

After some time running, we started to notice people chasing us. Their clothes were full of blood, and some of them had raw flesh or intestines sticking out of their body.

"How are they even alive?!" - I asked as we ran.

"They're not." - The woman answered.

We soon arrived to what seemed like an _almost_ abandoned convenience store. One person was in it, but it was one of "those" people. Like a wild animal, attacking whatever it thinks is food. Growling while doing anything at all.

"Stay where you are, and keep your guard up in case more of those things show up." - She told us.

She took out a combat knife and crept up on the thing, then stabbed its neck and almost beheaded it in one go.

"Wow, she's a beast." - I murmured to myself.

She returned to where we were at and made sure the door was locked. She then emptied out one of the convenience store shelves.

"Help me move this." 

"But how are we gonna get out?" - Dahyun asked. Momo then pointed to the back door we hadn't noticed.

We helped her move the shelf to the glass door, and then Dahyun started questioning her.

"So, who the hell are you?"

"Right, sorry for my bad manners. I'm Hirai Momo. Nice to meet you I guess?"

"Not exactly considering everything we just went through" - I said.

"I saw you scouting around earlier, I suppose you have something to do with the leakage don't you?" - Dahyun asked. God she caught on quick, well she did have big experience in pandemics and health-related cases.

"Yeah, I work for the government. They sent me off to check out that vet clinic as soon as we got reports of that man and the dog. It doesn't matter now anyways, everything will just go to shit now..." - Momo replied

"So are you saying they had a leak, and it's something they don't even have a cure for?" - Dahyun said, she sounded pissed but not really surprised.

"Not to my knowledge. I'm pretty much just a hired gun. But based on how panicked they were, I conclude they don't have a cure. Serves them right for playing around with their work like it's a toy."

///

Present time...

_ 1 AM _

"I'm still sorry if I startled you guys earlier, Ms. Kim and Ms. Minatozaki" - Momo apologized.

"It's okay, you were only doing your job. At least now we understand why they sent you there." - Sana answered, and then shivered.

"I'm also sorry that we have to stay in such a cold place." - She removed her green coat and handed it to Sana.

"We should try to sleep Ms. Hirai and Ms. Minato-" - She was cut off by Sana.

"Let's just drop honorifics guys, it doesn't really matter at this point. Just call me Sana, I'll call you guys by your name as well." 

"If you say so." - Momo said as she snacked.

After only a few minutes of trying to sleep, Sana speaks up.

"Guys I can't sleep, can you be my cuddle buddies or something??" - She said, unintentionally using aegyo.

This girl I swear. Such a softie.

Despite her thoughts, Dahyun ended up giving in, as she was also scared. Soon after that, they both fell asleep, leaving only Momo awake.

_God, what a mess...At least I have snacks._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hope y'alls are enjoying! And I just want to state one thing. This is the Cheer Up Momo, but with more gear XD
> 
> Have fun and praise gay Sanake! 
> 
> \- Penguin Tato


	5. A Special Day

_Her one true love is art._

_It holds the ability to make her eyes shine the brightest they possibly can._

About 2 days have passed, the girls have been moving from place to place, and are progressively getting better at slaughtering the undead. Especially Tzuyu. God, that savage maknae is really a beast.

**Tzuyu's POV**

We've been following a tiring routine, moving out of one place to another in the night time, then look for food and supplies nearby after enough sleep. It's rinse and repeat. At least I finally feel like I'm getting used to it. I don't know about Chaeyoung though. She seems really sad these days. If it weren't for Mina and I being here, her eyes probably wouldn't shine at all anymore.

Chaeyoung was still asleep. Seeing this, I signaled Mina to come to me.

"Hey, I need to go get some stuff. Will you stay here with Chaeyoung or will you go with me and we leave a note?" - I asked her.

"I'm not really sure. I mean I'm worried about leaving her alone but I'm also worried about you going out right now. Why don't we just wake her up and we all go together?" - Mina suggested. I shook my head.

"It's nighttime, I want Chaeyoung especially to get enough sleep. She hasn't been looking the best lately."

"Right...why don't we both go then? Chaeyoung seems like a deep sleeper lately anyways."

"She used to wake up with any noise before. Poor girl must be so stressed..." - I said under my breath.

We agreed to both head out in the end so I left her a note and made sure to leave a weapon close by. Right, just a day after moving, we came upon a weapon store. How convenient right? I left her a combat knife and a bat I had already put nails in, as I didn't want her using any of the guns I had stored in a bag since we don't have silencers. Since I'm the strongest, I try to carry more stuff, but Mina and Chaeyoung refuse to let me carry too much since I'm an ace when I'm given something to swing.

I emptied out the backpack I had been using, leaving only a first aid kit and a lamp. We then headed out.

"So where are we going to get what you need?" - Mina whispered as we walked.

"Shhh." - One of those disgusting things was nearby. It was missing an arm, and it smelled so putrid. It was fucking disgusting.

I took my combat knife out of the improvised scabbard I made for it and took the undead out effortlessly, like the pathetic piece of shit it was.

"Fucking disgusting." - I murmured to myself. Mina held back her laughter

"You seem to be cussing more and more every day Tzuyu." - She whispered.

"Well yeah, it's because these things are fucking disgusting. Like how the hell don't they die when they're missing limbs or are just injured in general." - I whisper back, as I behead the thing. Mina looked disgusted but amazed at the same time.

"Tap twice, safety measure. As long as we're out I'll always remind you guys of that."

"Right right. But you didn't "tap" twice. You slaughtered twice." - Mina murmured.

"Anyways, I didn't tell you where we're going or what we're looking for. Just keep your eye out for strawberry stuff for now, whether it's food, plushies, stuff like that."

"Pfft. Didn't know we were out to get Chaeyoung a late-night present. Are we also going to an art supply store then?" - Mina joked.

"Actually, we are. There's one not too far from here" - I replied.

"Are you crazy? Did we really come outside for that?? Why? We could have just done this when Chaengie was awake. You realize we're risking our lives while Chaeyoung is back home sleeping, not even knowing we're gone, right? - She hissed. She's normally quiet but she can be a little scary when she's mad.

"Don't forget who you're with. Nothing bad will happen to us, much less at night time, all we have to do is stay close." - I said in the calmest manner I could. Mina scoffed.

"Why are we even doing this?" - She asked me, trying to control her temper a bit.

"Tomorrow is Chaeyoung's birthday. I want her to look happy again at least one day in her life." - Mina nods speechlessly. She had a sorry look written on her face.

We soon arrived at their destination. The bell from the store is still activated, and the zombies inside come charging at us. It was three of them. I took a swing at one of them with my bat and kicked the other to the floor. Meanwhile, Mina was dealing with the last one, pinning it to the wall with the help of one of the bats I had given her. I slit the throats of the ones I was taking care of and then signaled Mina to move out of the way. As usual, one hit cracked the skull.

"Man, are these things getting weaker, or am I just stronger?" - I asked myself.

"I think you're getting stronger Tzuyu. I still struggle just as much as before to kill them." - She replied to my question.

Mina and I started walking down the isles searching for what we needed. Mina noticed I had a palette in my hands.

"Why do you have that?"

"Oh this? Well I found it in Chaeyoung's backpack the other day when I was looking for the box of nails I misplaced. She used these colors a lot before everything happened." - I answered her.

"Is that so? Well what kind of things did she paint?" - She asked me.

"You. She painted you. She would occasionally paint others, but it was normally for projects or birthdays. This is her favorite palette, do you recognize it?" - I asked her.

"That...it looks a lot like the colors used in my photoshoot...Feel Special." - I nodded at this.

"She loved it so much. She would talk about it all the time, and how her favorite outfit was where you were in a white dress, almost like a bride. Painting meant so much to her, she wished you would one day see them. It's sad to see that her eyes don't shine the same anymore." - I tell her.

"Well, let's look for whatever we need to put a smile on her face." - She smiled at me sweetly. 

_So that's why she would always go on about her smile all the time._

We finished getting everything we needed and were about to head out when Mina spotted something and stopped walking.

"What is it?" - I asked her. She only pointed to a counter near the cash register. There were a few plush keychains. She grabbed three. A penguin, a tiger, and a dog. She attached the dog keychain to my backpack.

"The penguin is for me and the tiger is for Chaengie." - She said, in the sweetest manner I had ever heard. I shed a tear.

"W-What is it? Do you not like it??" - She panicked.

"N-No, it's just...it reminds me of my dog, Gucci." - I told her, trying to collect myself.

"My mom would have loved it." - I mumbled.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be, you aren't to blame. We don't know if anyone is to blame for this at all."

Chaeyoung and I knew that our families were no more, as we were on the phone with them during their last moments. Mina was the only one who didn't know what happened, and didn't check her voice mail. She didn't dare to.

_"Please stay alive Tzuyu, along with the strawberry princess. Do it for me."_

I finally collected myself and we headed back. We arrived and saw sleeping Chaeyoung. The note was in the same place it was left at. 

"I guess she didn't wake up." - I said relieved. And after that, we both went to sleep, since thanks to Mina, we all knew now that those disgusting things can barely see during the night.

///

The next morning...

Mina and I had already woken up, leaving only the cub sleeping. It was about 7:04 when the cub woke up, she stretched and rubbed her eyes.

"Good morning Chaeyoung." - Mina greeted.

"Good morning Minari, Tzuyu. So are we moving out tonight?" 

"That depends on you." - Mina replies.

"Why on me?" - She said as I grabbed the things we collected yesterday.

"You were asleep pretty early yesterday, so we took the opportunity to go out for a late-night stroll." - I told her, as I gave her a canvas and a bag with all of the paint. We didn't only get acrylics. We also got spray paint, cause why not? Not like there was a government to tell us where to paint anymore. After I handed her the things, Mina handed her the tiger keychain and smiled.

"Guys, you didn't have to. You know how dangerous it is out there. But still, thank you so much for remembering despite everything that has happened." - She told us as she gave us a warm hug.

_I'm glad I'm here with you guys. I don't know how I'd keep going if I was alone._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry, I was supposed to write/upload this since yesterday, but I pulled an all-nighter and after that, I didn't sleep yesterday until like 10 PM when I was finishing the latest Hephaestus chapter and then fell asleep lol.
> 
> Anyways, I feel like this episode was kinda boring. Happy late Chaeyoung day lol
> 
> Have fun and don't forget about the important people around. 
> 
> \- Penguin Tato


	6. Acquaintances?

"Who the hell are you?!?"

"You stole my line. I'd like to know who you are as well."

"Guys now's not the time, help us barricade the door!"

///

1 hour before...

**Chaeyoung's POV**

"Alright guys, start packing your things, it's time to move out." - Tzuyu told us.

I smiled as I gave Mina and Tzuyu the portraits I had made of them just this morning.

"I'm so glad you guys got the small canvases, otherwise we wouldn't be able to take these paintings." - I beamed.

"I missed that smile." - Tzuyu mumbled, to which I just smiled.

"So where are we going Tzuyu?" - Mina asked the tallest.

"I'm not sure yet, but we might wanna keep our distance from XX Market since there were probably shitloads of people there when everything happened." - She answers.

"Right. Chaengie, do you still want me to hold your hand when we're out?" - Mina asked me, as I got very scared, enough to not let go of Mina's hand the first few days when moving.

"Uh...No, thank you. I think I can handle it Minari." - I hesitantly answered.

The streets were brightly lit by the moonlight, making it easier for everyone or everything to see...We started moving out and walked for about 50 minutes, hiding from the undead with no need to engage with them. Then we came across what seemed like roughly 60 of those things, all hoarded in one spot. Tzuyu pulled Mina and I behind her as we hid behind a wall.

"What the fuck are they doing there?" - Tzuyu mumbled, her voice becoming shakier with every word she said.

Then we heard it. Gunshots. And a few voices, mostly male. 

"So it's survivors. They probably figured out that these things can't see as well in the dark. They must have went to scavenge at the market. God I feel bad for them." - Said Tzuyu as we tried to sneak away from the scene. But then, Tzuyu halted.

"I-I see people. Next to that store over there." - She pointed to three people about 91 meters away. It seemed these people had also noticed the horde of undead and were trying to sneak away as well.

"Tzuyu, why are we stopping, keep walking, c'mon!" - Mina urged her.

"R-Right..." - Tzuyu gulped. Not even 5 steps later and she found herself accidentally kicking a can. The undead turned their heads almost in synchronicity.

"Fuck, run!!" - Tzuyu hissed as she pushed us in front of her. She stayed in the back in case someone fell or those things caught up to them.

The people Tzuyu had mentioned earlier noticed the zombies chasing them and were about to leave, but...

**Nayeon's POV**

"Jihyo! What the hell are you doing??!! Let's run for fuck's sake!" - Jeongyeon begged.

"No, we're waiting for them! We can't just leave them like this!" - She responded.

"I fucking swear. Nayeon, c'mon, let's go!" - She tugged me but I instantly pushed her off.

"Jeongyeon, I'm not leaving yet. Do you remember how things ended the last time we decided to run off without company?? We would have died if it wasn't for that gun!" 

Jeongyeon pulled on her hair and then took out her own gun.

"I can't believe I'm doing this, I must be fucking crazy."

**Chaeyoung's POV**

I noticed these people halted so I started running even faster. For the small body I have, I think I'm quite fast. I made sure to hold Mina's hand though, as Mina wasn't as fast as me or Tzuyu.

"Fuck! You, move out of the way!" - I shouted as I let go of Mina's hand and pointed at the girl. Next thing the girl knew, I was drop kicking one of those things that had started creeping up on her. After this Mina quickly helped me up and we kept running with the three other girls. Not many words were exchanged as we were all running out of breath.

"L-Library!" - Mina said, almost running out of breath entirely. I spotted what Mina was talking about. A small library a few meters away. It was open, how lucky. Another girl quickly rushed to the door and waited for everyone to get in, then slammed the door, thank god it was wooden. After I sat a panting Mina down I went to help two of the girls to keep the door shut.

"Who the hell are you?!?" - The boyish girl pointed her gun at Tzuyu.

"You stole my line. I'd like to know who you are as well." - Tzuyu responded with her spiked bat ready.

"Guys now's not the time, help us barricade the door!" - Shouted one of the ones holding back the door. Tzuyu and the other girl snapped out of it and began moving a bookshelf to the door. They made sure it was enough to keep them out, and then we all plopped to the floor.

"God, I thought I was gonna die, not because of the zombies, but because of the running. You're so fast Chaeyoung." - Mina said, still trying to catch her breath.

"Oh, short stuff's name is Chaeyoung? I should thank you for just now when you drop kicked the disgusting thing behind me." - I frowned at the comment about her height. The girl who previously urged them to help nudged boyish girl while clearing her throat.

"So, why don't we all introduce ourselves? I'm Im Nayeon. This here is my angry boyfriend, Jeongyeon." - We all looked at her wide-eyed.

"Hey, I'm not your boyfriend, I'm a girl." - Jeongyeon corrected her.

"So girlfriend?" - Nayeon kept joking.

"Ugh, whatever. Anyways, I'm Yoo Jeongyeon. Not nice meeting you at the moment."

"Park Jihyo here."

"I'm Son Chaeyoung. The girl with the spiked bat is Chou Tzuyu, and next to me is Myou Mina."

"Shit, for real? The Myoui Mina??" - Jihyo asked.

"Wow Jihyo, didn't know teachers knew about her."

"Are you insisting I'm old, Nayeon? I've only been teaching for 3 years. But anyways, I know Mina from high school. We were classmates."

"Oh, right, I remember you. The loudest in class. No offense." - Mina replied, rather emotionless.

"Wait are you guys acquaintances or did you actually talk to each other?" - Jihyo and Mina looked away from each other when this was asked.

"Well...I dated one of Jihyo's close friends for a while, but that not relevant."

"That's nice to know but, how are we getting out of here?" - I asked.

"We're just gonna have to wait for some hours, cub. They'll be on our asses if we leave right after they forget about us." - Tzuyu replied.

"Is that so? I'll just go to sleep then." - I said and then proceeded to make myself comfortable by laying my head on Mina's lap. This wasn't weird to Mina, as we had all gotten pretty close over the pass of these days due to the circumstances we're facing. She ran her fingers through my hair to help me fall asleep peacefully, and so they all started exchanging stories with each other, including the detail on Mina and Jihyo being ex-classmates, until they too fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest, I never know what to write lmao. I just brainstorm the main point of each chapter and then see where that takes me lol. Anyways, lately, I've been listening to Oh My God by (G)I-DLE, and you cannot change my mind about it being a gay anthem.
> 
> Again, if you see any typos, lmk. I feel like my brain is somehow high lately lmao.
> 
> Hope y'alls are enjoying lol, take care! 
> 
> \- Penguin Tato


	7. Nightmares

_**Definition** : Zemblanity is the faculty of making unhappy, unlucky and expected discoveries by design._

_**Antonym** : Serendipity._

Chaeyoung is awoken at 9 AM by some of the girls talking and the sound of a stack of books being placed on a table. She rubs her eyes and realizes Mina is still sleeping. She must be so uncomfortable as she was sitting up with her back against the wall since Chaeyoung had her head on Mina's lap. She took out a tiger plush (squishmallow) that she made sure to pack before leaving the dorm. She had received it from her mom on her last birthday so there was no way she was leaving it.

_I miss you mom._

She placed the plush on the floor and moved Mina's body, placing her head on the plush. Chaeyoung noticed Mina slightly open her eyes, and hoped she hadn't waken her up. She stared for a few seconds hoping she was still asleep, and after she saw Mina had closed her eyes again, she went to the other girls. Jihyo was still asleep as well so it was Tzuyu, Nayeon, and Jeongyeon.

"What are you guys doing?" - Chaeyoung asked, rubbing her eyes again.

"We're reading books we don't understand." - Nayeon told her.

"We're looking for any info that might help, Chaeyoung-ah."

"Ah, I see. Do you need help?" 

"Nah, feel free to just browse around, but let us know if you find anything." - Tzuyu replied. Chaeyoung nodded her head and started looking for something to read. She couldn't find anything to pique her interest after about an hour of looking and she probably wouldn't be able to sleep anymore, so she grabbed a dictionary.

"Do you guys want a dictionary?" - She joked.

"If it doesn't contain every possible curse word I can throw at those things, I don't want it." - Tzuyu said as she looked through a self-defense book.

"I thought you were a hitter, not a pitcher. Do you guys know of any interesting Z words?"

"Chaeyoung, you sound like a nerd. But if I was to describe this situation in one word, it's Zemblanity." - Jeongyeon said.

"Never heard it before. What does it mean?" 

"Kid, you're the one with the dictionary."

"Oh, right..."

_**Definition** : Zemblanity is the faculty of making unhappy, unlucky and expected discoveries by design._

_**Antonym** : Serendipity._

"This...This sounds about right. I mean, we didn't expect for this to happen, but when it did we expected it to be a government/lab mess up. I just wish it was serendipity instead..."

"Don't we all." - Tzuyu said.

///

**Mina's POV**

Chaeyoung had fallen asleep on my lap. She sleeps a lot these days. I wasn't feeling very tired, so we all decided to exchange stories. After Chaeyoung fell asleep, Jeongyeon followed, and then Tzuyu and finally Nayeon. Jihyo and I stayed up until about 5 AM when Jeongyeon woke up. Poor girls must be sleep deprived as hell since everything went down. They are quite caring even though they feel forced to toughen up due to the circumstances.

When Jihyo and I went to sleep, I had a weird dream. I was little again, getting my shots from my dad. Some of his colleagues were there, but all I heard were muffled voices. The dream, for some reason made me feel uneasy. But then it disappeared. I was semi-conscious, and my head was being placed on a pillow or something. I slightly opened my eyes for a second and saw Chaeyoung looking at me and then walking to the bookshelves. I was still very tired, so I fell asleep right after again.

I woke up about an hour later hearing a word. Zemblanity. I remember I read a book once that used that word, and so I asked my father what it meant.

"Kid, you're the one with the dictionary."

"Oh, right..."

_**Definition** : Zemblanity is the faculty of making unhappy, unlucky and expected discoveries by design._

_**Antonym** : Serendipity._

"This...This sounds about right. I mean, we didn't expect for this to happen, but when it did we expected it to be a government/lab mess up. I just wish it was serendipity instead..."

_I couldn't agree more, Chaeyoung._

"Don't we all." _  
_

"Mina, you're awake." - Chaeyoung said when she noticed me sitting up

"Uh, yeah. I woke up from a weird dream I keep having."

"What dream? If you don't mind me asking."

"I don't know, just my dad giving me my shots. As you know he's a doctor, so I normally received my shots from him. I don't know how I still remember this one specifically as I was only about 5 years old. I don't remember much from back then." 

"Ah I see. Maybe you were more aware at the time? Or maybe you had a fear of needles at the time?" - Chaeyoung suggested, but no matter what she said I just couldn't shake this weird feeling off, and honestly, it made me a bit scared.

///

_ 8 PM _

**Chaeyoung's POV**

It had been an hour since we had some food, so Tzuyu went outside to check the area along with Jeongyeon. They came back with some more supplies.

"Guys, we might be heading out a bit early today, they left about 10 minutes ago so we should take the chance because they will for sure come back." - Tzuyu told us.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well you see, it seems that area is their hunting ground. That disgusting smell from earlier wasn't only them...there's bodies in the area. Probably people who didn't turn but were instead torn to pieces. I wonder, which fate is worse?" - Jeongyeon said.

"But why specifically there?" - Nayeon asked.

"It may seem like a not so interesting store on the outside, but they have some nice survival resources and guns hidden inside. A bit shady if you ask me but it works out. Some people who were probably into the shady business likely remembered this place and tried looting it."

Tzuyu handed me a crossbow.

"You're probably wondering why I picked this out. Well if we make it far enough, food will probably become scarce. From what we've seen, the animals don't turn when bitten, so we'll eventually have to rely on them for food. You know how I feel about killing animals so I'm letting you do it since you know how to handle crossbows too." - She said.

"Then what's that sniper rifle for?" - I asked her.

"Oh, this? Well if we ever stay in a place where I can boost myself onto a roof, I can pop a suppressor onto this baby and kill off stragglers before we head out."

"We seem to have more than enough weapons, so we should leave Tzuyu's bats and that axe since the weight will make traveling more difficult." - Jihyo suggested although it seemed more like a demand.

We did as we were told and created a formation before leaving. I was at the front with Mina, Jihyo and Nayeon followed behind us, and finally, Tzuyu and Jeongyeon at the back. Nayeon, Mina, and I were given FN Five-SeveNs as we didn't know how to handle the guns being used by Tzuyu and Jeongyeon. Jeongyeon and Tzuyu both carried a Thompson submachine gun along with a Steyr TMP along with Tzuyu's assault rifle. Jihyo stuck with the two handguns she originally had, simply upgrading them as the girls were thoughtful to bring some parts for her. Everyone except Jihyo and I were given a combat knife since we were still short on those.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly until about 14 of them attacked us after 30 minutes of walking. We completely missed them somehow. Tzuyu and Jeongyeon took two of them out on their own alternating between their secondary weapons and their combat knives. Meanwhile, the rest of us struggled with just one. I was surprisingly able to finish the one I had to deal with pretty quickly. It's a good thing we had suppressors, otherwise, we'd be so dead. Tzuyu and Jeongyeon helped Jihyo and Nayeon out when I noticed Mina not even fighting. 

**Mina's POV**

We were attacked by them after some time walking. It's like they appeared out of nowhere, how could we have missed them? Everyone engaged with them, and I just stood there frozen. In front of me was an undead person, one of the sleeves was torn, revealing a bite mark, and a very familiar bracelet. Seeing the bracelet made me tear up. It was my gift to the woman who I saw as my older sister...

"Seoyeon?" - I asked as my voice cracked and my body remained completely frozen, the only things moving were my chest and my lips. She stood there for a split second as if trying to comprehend me, but then she threw herself onto me. My body reacted on its own and I used my forearm to protect my vulnerable neck and face, though it really was no use as I got bitten anyways. I didn't even have the bravery to draw my gun, I felt so overwhelmed, I felt the need to give up right then and there, and so, I stayed still.

**Chaeyoung's POV**

"Seoyeon?"

I ran as fast as I could to Jeongyeon and grabbed her combat knife as she was the closest. I could have used my gun or my crossbow, but I was scared that I would accidentally shoot Mina. I didn't kick it off as doing that would tear the skin on Mina's forearm off since its teeth were practically latched onto her. Instead, I stabbed its side and it softened its bite on Mina and turned its attention to me. It charged at me but I dodged it and put it in a lock. I then stabbed it in the head which made it drop to the floor instantly.

_Is this what it's like to be Tzuyu?_

The other girls hadn't noticed her getting bitten, as the stragglers were giving them a hard time, so I quickly ran up to her and ripped part of her sleeve off. I tightened the cloth around the bite to stop the bleeding and hopefully prevent something bad from happening. I then put my jacket on her to cover up the cloth. She soon passed out and I panicked, as that normally happened with people before becoming undead, but I decided to ignore it as she was not presenting any other symptoms.

Even so, it seemed like I was having nightmares, one after another. Only that this wasn't a nightmare, it was worse...

"Chaeyoung, what happened to Mina?" - Nayeon asked as I attempted to carry Mina. She may be taller than me but she's light enough for me to carry. Nayeon grabbed Mina's backpack so it would be easier for me.

"Oh, I think she might have passed out from the gore. That thing right there used to be her bodyguard, she saw her as a sister so maybe it hit her hard having to kill 'her'."

They gave me suspicious looks, but then brushed it off and went to a nearby house and Jihyo picked the lock. We settled there for the night because of what just happened to Mina. I was still unsure on whether it had been a good idea, but I couldn't just leave her there. Her pulse was still there and everything seemed pretty normal except for the fact that she was bitten. I just...I couldn't leave her. 

I would never forgive myself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took so long. Writer block hit hard lol. Also don't freak out yet :)  
> Also-Also, does this seem really unrealistic? I feel like it is but I couldn't think of any other way to make these events happen more logically :(
> 
> \- Penguin Tato


	8. Goodbye

"Chaeyoung, what happened to Mina?"

"Oh, I think she might have passed out from the gore. That thing right there used to be her bodyguard, she saw her as a sister so maybe it hit her hard having to kill 'her'."

Jihyo successfully picked the house lock.

"sow, where did you learn to do that?" - Nayeon asked.

"I had a rather...disobedient class this year. They liked locking me out of places and sneakily taking my keys."

_A bunch of brats._

///

I went to one of the rooms and placed Mina down onto the bed. My hands were starting to shake at this point.

**_WHAT THE FUCK SHOULD I DO???_ **

I was starting to hyperventilate a bit, but I tried to stay calm. I went to the kitchen and found a bottle of wine, then I went to the bathroom and frantically searched through the cabinets. I didn't realize I was being watched.

"They had medical gauzes, but no rubbing alcohol or peroxide??"

"What are you doing, Son Chaeyoung?" - I heard. I hadn't asked for their first aid kit as I knew they wouldn't let me use it if it was for someone who has been bitten. I looked at her for a split second but then just continued looking. I washed my hands before heading to the door. I was then about to exit when she grabbed me by the wrist.

"Chaeyoung. What. Are. You. Doing?" - She demanded an answer. She probably already caught on anyways.

"You already know what I'm doing, why do you even ask?"

"I knew she was fucking bitten! Chaeyoung just stop. Let's get rid of her before she turns."

I released myself from her grip.

"Mind your own business, Tzuyu."

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? YOU ARE MY BUSINESS! I'VE COMMITTED MYSELF TO TAKING CARE OF US EVER SINCE I BECAME FRIENDS WITH YOU! HAVE YOU GONE INSANE?!" - She yelled. The other girls came to see what was going on.

"Just let me do this, I have good reasons."

"IS HAVING A CRUSH ON A MODEL WHO BARELY KNOW YOU REALLY A GOOD REASON?!"

"Fucking damn it Tzuyu! You know I don't like arguing, just hear me out." - I said as I took her into the room.

"It's been about 5 minutes and she hasn't even had a seizure. She hasn't had any symptoms Tzuyu."

"Oh yeah? Well what if the stupid virus devolved, huh? What if it's just slower? Or worse, what if it evolved to not present the same symptoms?"

"I highly doubt that. Now, just let me do my thing."

"Chaeyoung, no! Let's just put her out of her misery, please."

"It's okay, I have this in case she does turn." - I told her and then drew my handgun out. I then pointed it at Tzuyu. 

"Now get out, Tzuyu." - I said in the coldest tone I possibly could. Of course, I would never shoot her, but I had to seem as serious as possible. I was successful, as she put her hands up in the air and stepped outside. I locked the door and heaved a sigh.

Mina seemed like she was regaining consciousness already, as she was starting to whimper in pain a bit. Weakly. I placed a container full of water that I had grabbed while in the kitchen, along with the wine, a rag, and the gauzes. I knew a few things about first aid thanks to Tzuyu. Basically she got a kinda deep wound one time while we were hiking. Though that time we didn't have alcohol. Alcohol is best to not be used as it can damage the skin, but right now skin damage was the least I could think of. I removed the improvised gauze I had quickly made a few minutes ago when we were still outside. She bled a lot, but it wasn't enough to kill her, thank god. She was also running a slight fever at this point.

"I'm sorry Mina, this is gonna hurt." - I said as I opened the bottle and poured the wine on the bite. At this her breathing became heavier and she gripped the blankets tight. 

"I'm so so sorry, I know it hurts." - I said as I cleaned her wound with the rag. After that, I wrapped her wound with the gauze. While I was wrapping it, the veins around the bite were starting to show. I panicked a bit and decided I should tighten the area right above the visible veins, just in case. Maybe that could stop the spread...

It's been about an hour. I have been here, one hand caressing her hair in an attempt to comfort her, and the other hand on my gun. Such a conflicting scene, am I right? Well, she seemed to be doing a bit better now. Her fever went down and she wasn't panting or whimpering anymore.

_Was she really alive and not undead because of me?_

I can't even begin to describe how relieved this made me feel. She soon opened her eyes. _  
_

"S-Seyeon..." - My eyes widened as I saw her regain consciousness.

"Mina, how are you feeling?? Can you still feel your arm? How are your senses?" - I asked her. God I felt like a doctor or some shit.

_She seems to be out of it still._

"Mina?? You there?"

"Oh, Chaeyoung, it's you." - She said faintly.

"Yeah, it's me, how do you feel? Does it hurt anywhere?" - I said as I holstered my gun. She started crying a bit.

"I don't feel okay Chaeyoung, it hurts."

"Where?" - I asked her. She put her hand over her chest.

"That stupid idiot should have just saved herself, I'm the reason she ended up like that."

"Hey, you aren't the reason why Mina. It was her decision, don't blame yourself please, she wouldn't want this." - I said. It seems I managed to calm her down. But then, she tried moving her hand, which reminded her of what had just happened outside, besides her seeing her former bodyguard.

"Agh! What the fuck?!" - She groaned as she felt the pain quickly rush into her system.

"Oh good, you can actually feel it now."

"What the fuck? How the fuck am I still alive?" - She said as she sat up.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I just tried disinfecting your wound, there's kind of umm. There's the veins, you know. They're visible around the bite." - I said, she tried removing the gauze but I stopped her from doing it and laid her back down.

"You should just rest, we don't even know what effect this might have had on you."

**Mina's POV**

I woke up apparently about an hour after it happened. I had a dream about Seoyeon while I was out. 

In the dream, Seoyeon was walking down a flower trail, away from me. The flowers I managed to tell apart were white chrysanthemums, white stargazer lilies, and a few roses. Some red, others yellow. She was holding a single spider lily in her hand. I called her name but she just kept walking, until she eventually stopped and looked at me. I felt my left hand holding something. I brought my hand up to see what it was.

I was holding a lotus flower. When I looked back up, she was gone. The last few moments are blurry because I was about to wake up.

When I woke up, Chaeyoung was caressing my hair, and I was on what felt like a bed. All I could do was have a breakdown when I remembered what I just dreamt. It made me remember how I was even still alive and made me hate being alive. She gave her own life away just to keep me safe, was that selfish or selfless?

"Mina?? You there?"

"Oh, Chaeyoung, it's you."

God, I feel like absolute shit. She was so young too. Only 2 years older than me, and she had the bravery for this. Not because she was my bodyguard, but because we loved each other like we were of the same blood. I just started blabbering everything. My mind wasn't in the right space, all it had in it was blame. Then, Chaeyoung's voice snapped me out of it.

"Hey, you aren't the reason why Mina. It was her decision, don't blame yourself please, she wouldn't want this."

_She's right. Seoyeon would hate me for this. I guess I wasn't left completely alone._

We just stayed there for hours, Chaeyoung was there the whole time, trying to stay awake the whole time to make sure I was okay. She also let everyone else know that I survived despite getting bitten. They gave us time for now but we would all probably start a discussion about it when I regained all of my energy.

_How the fuck did I even survive without turning?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, been a few days. I suppose some of you don't know the symbolism behind the flowers, so I will list them down below. This is kinda long btw, so if you don't feel like reading it, just don't lol.
> 
> First off, I will start with the flower trail. This is Seoyeon's departure I suppose lol. I wasn't sure whether it should be her actual departure, or just Mina letting go of her own guilt, so I'll leave that up to all of y'alls imaginations.
> 
> White chrysanthemums: They are used specifically for funerals and decorating graves. In a lot of European nations, this flower has to do with death.
> 
> White stargazers: Lilies tend to symbolize purity and innocence, however, stargazers specifically symbolize the transcending of spiritual barriers. So yeah, some spiritual stuff right there.
> 
> Roses: Yellow roses are for remembering the departed, specifically a close friend or something. Deep crimson roses symbolize grief.
> 
> Spider lilies: Final goodbyes. They say these flowers grow where people part ways for good. In old Buddhist writings, the red spider lily is said to guide the dead through samsara, the cycle of rebirth. But being totally honest with you, I chose this one mostly because of the More & More cover lol.
> 
> Lotus flowers: They are often seen as a symbol of purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration and rebirth. I chose it because of this but also for something I would not like to spoil.
> 
> Soon™ lol.
> 
> I didn't know how to continue this too well, but I kinda had a dark dream today but woke up to Chaeyoung's teaser of More & More and was like "Oh why don't I include a symbolic dream about flowers in here?" lol.
> 
> Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed.
> 
> \- Penguin Tato


	9. Zemblanity

_How the fuck did I even survive without turning?_

This thought would not leave my mind. All I could do was stare at my left hand, covered by the gauze Chaeyoung wrapped on it.

But then, I remembered something.

_The dream..._

"Chaeyoung, hand me my phone." - I told her. Poor girl was almost falling asleep. She handed me my phone and I checked the voice message, along with a regular message my dad left when everything happened.

_I think...deep down, I expected this..._

_But it's not something I ever wanted to believe._

"Princess, I just want to say, I'm so sorry for everything. I really am. I should confess my sins while I still have time left...Please check your messages."

I had a sinking feeling as I went into my messages.

Chaeyoung was just looking at me, possibly expecting me to read it out loud.

**_I am partially to blame for this mess. I know you think I'm just a doctor, but in reality I became much more than that. They made me into one of their leading scientists. For the government. For a 'biotech' company, by the name of 'Lotus Novum'. I'm sure by now you have read the articles of the leakage that occurred there. In reality, it was much more worse than just an accident..._ **

**_In reality, it was a bioweapon company. I'm sure you've heard of these before. Disgusting pigs have their scientists create viruses, and sell them off to the highest bidder. They were planning on selling it to one of the candidates for president in South Korea this year, along with an 'antivirus'. It was a fake. They thought they had the perfect formula for the real one, and planned on getting the credit for curing the virus._ **

"W-What?...?" - Chaeyoung said as I read. We expected the government to be behind this, but it seems this became an even more twisted story with every word I read.

**_Things didn't go their way of course. One day some decades, I took a look through their files and managed to snatch a copy of the antivirus. Me and some of my colleagues agreed to make an antivirus behind their backs since we were sure their plan would be a failure. I was the first human test subject for the antivirus, as we couldn't just tell them to gather some because they weren't supposed to know. You and your brother were the next test subjects. When we first tested it on you, you were 5. We all had a bad allergic reaction, and that's when we first realized that this antivirus was far from perfect. We had tested it again once you turned 15, but around that time, a modification had been made to the genetic code, so we had to put in even more work. The last time it was tested was when you turned 20. We thought that this time it was truly perfect._ **

Chaeyoung just looked at me wordlessly as I started to cry out of frustration. I gathered myself and continued reading.

**_I'm sorry for lying, saying they were other shots. I'm sorry for putting your life at risk every time I did it, as we were not so sure about the side effects of it._ _We couldn't just tell the rest either. They were foolish enough to believe they had the perfect formula and could then take credit for developing the cure, but they didn't even bother to work on it._ **

**_In the end, it wasn't even sold, as a scientist mishandled a sample a few days before this outbreak. She became infected and, at first, it started with a simple fever which made her think it was just something else. She was the true patient 0. In a few days, she eventually became one of 'them' and attacked another scientist she was with. A guard who was on duty saw this and immediately shot them, as he knew what was happening. The higher-ups ordered him along with other guards to dispose of the bodies, without letting any other personnel know about it. As if they never attended school, they just dumped the bodies next to a creek near the lan. That was their mistake for not burning the bodies instead. The higher-ups heard of this and immediately issued an announcement of the leak. The blood of patient 0 and her first victim had managed to seep into the creek._ **

"What the fuck?" - Is all Chaeyoung could say.

**_I only have some minutes left. The infected are in the lab, I have been bitten. I am locked in my office right now. The virus seems to have mutated even more as it passed through the two scientists, the dog and the vet, turning its victims into undead much faster than before. I want you to listen to me when I tell you this. Be VERY careful, the virus has mutated, likely in its last stages as it cannot possibly infect someone faster than that. You may have a sample of the antivirus in your body, but at this point, the virus will only be delayed in the time it takes to actually infect you. If you ever get bitten, your last hope is acting fast enough by disinfecting before the majority of the virus penetrates your defenses._ **

**_I'm sorry for everything I've done. I'm sorry for doing this to you and your brother. I'm sorry I couldn't survive long enough to protect you, like a father should do._ **

**_I'm afraid I must go now, I love you princess, please stay alive._ **

I didn't even know what was going through my mind at this time. I didn't read the last few parts out loud, and instead just had a complete panic attack. 

"Mina, I'm sorry this is happening..."

"Stop saying sorry. I'm sick of it. Why is everything that has been coming out of everyone's mouths ever since this happened? I hate it so much."

She helped me sit up carefully and let me cry on her shoulder until I eventually fell asleep. I then woke up and saw Chaeyoung sleeping on the chair next to the bed. She had her gun on the table.

I don't know what overcame me at this moment...

I was stupid enough to see this as an opportunity. I quickly grabbed it from the table and pointed it at my head, then I pulled the trigger.

It was on safety.

_I thought she wouldn't have it on safety, considering the fact that I'm still a danger since we don't know what might happen to me just yet._

A part of me had really hoped that the safety failed. I hoped that it was faulty. I wanted to end everything then and there. It felt horrible to know that my own father did this. And to know that he was part of the reason this happened, even if it was against his will.

Chaeyoung woke up when she heard me crying and complaining about the safety. Her eyes were wide open as soon as she realized I was holding her gun.

"Mina, give me the gun." - She calmly asked.

"Chaeyoung, why did I even have to survive? It hurts. I lost Seoyeon and my family. And worst of all, I'm carrying the blood of the person who is partially to blame for everything."

"Mina, I understand, but please give me the gun and let us think it over." - I hesitated for a bit, but I eventually gave it to her. She stood up and placed it farther away from us.

"What's your argument?" - I asked her. I was honestly just so tired of all the bullshit that has happened.

"Your dad tried to create an antivirus. It's true that he tested it on you and your brother, but we both know he had good intentions. If he didn't, why would he hide it from the rest? He would have just stuck to their plan instead. Plus, you haven't turned at all, and your fever went down. I think we were fast enough. Don't take your own life when your dad has given you this opportunity, Mina."

"But if it wasn't for him helping them, this wouldn't have-"

"This would have happened regardless. They worked on the virus without him, and they would have mishandled it again. Your dad being there, made things a bit better. So please stop blaming him, and stop feeling ashamed of him and yourself."

"It's just, everything feels so pointless right now. I feel so alone." - I still tried arguing, although I was in a more sane state of mind at this point.

"What about me? What about me and the girls? Do you not have us? Mina just please, don't do this ever again. We can't lose you. I can't lose you." - She said, her voice slowly becoming softer as her eyes became watery. 

Chaeyoung's a rather strong girl, she tries her best not to cry around others often.

_If she wasn't there to stop me and comfort me, I don't know what I would have done. I hate all of this. I hate that all of this is happening. I hate that these people chose to ruin all of our lives, just because they were being greedy. Deep down, I wished these greedy people could suffer something much worse than death. For doing this to my father, and to everyone._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Sorry if I'm making this seem like a michaeng thing again. I'm trying to focus on every character, but since Mina and Chaeyoung are the protagonists, they have more sad moments like this with each other. I actually used a random roulette generator to decide who the MCs are and they came up lol.  
> I will now explain the Lotus thing. It's true that the lab I made up for this is called Lotus Novum (New Lotus), but I chose it for a different reason, I just came up with that name after lol.  
> The main reason I chose it is because all (or almost all, can't remember) of the parts of the lotus flower can be used to make medicine, so yeah, y'alls probably know what I'm referring to. Mina's body has basically adapted to the virus and become immune thanks to the half-effective antivirus and Chaeyoung's fast actions. Not sure if it's realistic since I haven't looked into it lmao, but I mean if a body can become immune on its own, then why not with the help of an antivirus that has at least a 50% chance at working lolol.
> 
> Anyways, my next chapter could be of the 3mix, Tzuyu, or someone in Sana's group. What do you guys think?
> 
> Please do comment if you need further explanations or just wanna give some opinions or something lol. My notes are so long these days lol.
> 
> Hope you guys are liking it so far! 
> 
> \- Penguin Tato


	10. A Complete Badass

** Jeongyeon's POV **

I was sitting on the sofa which was right next to the window, Nayeon's head on my shoulder. It was pretty late so she was asleep. I was looking out the window and noticed a bird on a tree.

"How is any animal still alive anyways?" - I murmured, seemingly waking up Nayeon. She lifted her head and looked where I was looking.

"Oh, it's an eagle. That reminds me, is Tzuyu still up on the balcony keeping an eye outside?"

I had forgotten Tzuyu was up there...

"Yeah, she is."

"I still can't believe this happened. How did Mina even survive? And why would Chaeyoung even risk it?"

"Does it really matter? Mina's okay now, and we're no one to judge Chaeyoung, she surely had her reasons."

Hours earlier, we were told by Tzuyu to stay alert as she explained the situation. I must admit it was kind of stupid for Chaeyoung to do that, as she was putting everyone here at risk, but I would have done the same thing if Nayeon was in Mina's place, so I try not to judge her. Thankfully, a few hours passed and she told us all that Mina seemed to be doing well. I don't know how she made it, but we're all okay for now and that's all that matters.

"Yeah you are right. I'd do the same if you were in Mina's place, Jeongie." 

"You? Point a gun at someone? Don't make me laugh, you can't even shoot at the right target a lot of the time." - I joked, to which she responded by glaring at me. 

"I'm gonna go check in with Tzuyu, she looked in a bad mood earlier." - I said as I stood up. I walked upstairs to the balcony, where Tzuyu was guarding with her sniper rifle. She heard me walk up to her and decided to make a comment.

"It's so empty out tonight, I really need something to shoot right now."

"Is it because of the whole issue with Chaeyoung? If so, I don't think it really matters. Mina doesn't seem to present any danger as of the moment."

"Still, Yoo Jeongyeon. It pisses me off that she risked all of us just for this. I guess I expected more from her."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..."

There was a beat of silence, and then we heard a few gunshots. Tzuyu immediately reacted by looking through the scope.

"J-Jeongyeon, it's...it's survivors!"

As soon as she said this, I motioned her to let me see her rifle. I looked through the scope, and I saw two separate groups. One was 3 females who quickly hid behind a vehicle, while the other was three males and one female. They seemed to be looking for them.

"I can't believe marauders are already a thing..."

"What do you mean by-" - She realized what I meant when we heard more gunshots. "Holy shit, quick, give me my sniper back. Go get me Jihyo's walkie, I'll let you know once it's clear to open the door."

"What? You mean we're helping them??"

"No shit Yoo. Don't you start complaining and go get me what I told you!"

Seems she's had a change of heart ever since our first encounter. She's not willing to kill whoever crosses her path anymore, I wonder what that's about. I went downstairs and did as I was told, then went back down and told Jihyo and Nayeon about the situation so they were prepared.

"Yoo, all clear. Open the door and let them know."

"Copy." - I responded. There's something about speaking through walkie talkies that makes me feel extremely badass even though I did nothing but wait. Nayeon opened the door and I ran out to gather the three girls, but soon noticed one of them had just passed out, so I carried her inside with the help of the other two girls. We rushed her to the same room Mina was in as it had two beds, and laid her down. One of the girls then started applying pressure to the wound.

"Jeongyeon, who are they? Why are they here?" - Chaeyoung asked, baffled at the way we rushed in when she unlocked the door.

I didn't know who they were. No one did. All we knew is they were survivors, and they needed help.

** Momo's POV **

We had started walking over 2 hours ago. Sana and Dahyun were complaining about how tired they were from instances where we had to run from the undead. We avoided places we knew were overcrowded with people before, but it seems these past days have given them an opportunity to roam around to places where you wouldn't normally expect to find them. At some point we even had to jump roofs. In simple words, it was a mess. However, after some time, we came across with an oddly empty area and decided to let our guard down. 

"Oh what do we have here? Hey there ladies, wherein this apocalyptic world have you come from? Oh, don't answer that actually. It won't matter since we're taking you with us, dead or alive."

Ugh, I already knew what kind of people we were dealing with. Some goddamn murderers and rapists. Pretty expected in a word like this to be honest. A shot was fired into the air, and that's when I drew out my own guns.

"Quick, take cover behind something!" - I said as I also hid behind something. I managed to shoot the only girl in the group, and then I felt a sudden pain in arm, right under my shoulder.

_When was I even shot?_

I tried to keep shooting, but I could no longer focus. The last things I remember before passing out were hearing what sounded like a suppressed rifle and seeing a girl in short hair running towards us.

** Sana's POV **

I didn't even know how to react after we hid behind a car. I watched Momo, who was across from me collapse as a girl came out of a house and ran towards us. I looked up at the balcony of the house and saw another girl with a sniper rifle. She was very tall. I was lost in my own world until Dahyun called my name.

"Sana, what are you doing? Help us carry Momo inside, she's losing blood!"

And so I did just that. Once we were inside, we took her into one of the rooms where they actually had another injured girl and I immediately took action. I tied a cloth around her arm and I applied pressure to her wound as I frantically scanned the room for anything I could use at the moment. I asked for them to bring me an ice pack or anything to numb the wound.

"One of you, go look for something I can use to numb the wound and pull out the bullet, quick!"

The girl who had previously questioned why I'm here ran out of the room and came back with an ice pack and a first aid kit. Good thing it actually had tweezers. I also told them to get me a pressure cooker to sterilize all of the things I'm using. Momo was semiconscious by the time I had everything ready, so I had her take a drink of some wine that was in the room to help numb the pain a bit.

_It's a good thing I chose to be a vet._

I tried my best to stay calm as I removed the bullet from her arm. Thankfully, the cloth I had tied earlier stopped the blood circulation in her arm. The bullet didn't go in too deep either so that was really a lifesaver, I was kind of scared of having to dig deeper into her arm. I really questioned why this other girl hadn't used alcohol on her friend's wound as it was in the first aid kit, but I didn't think about it for too long. I just finished cleaning Momo's wound and stitched it up, then I wrapped it with a gauze. I kept watch on her and the other girl as Momo rested, so that the girl who was there before, Son Chaeyoung, could take a break and eat.

"So, who are you?" - The girl on the other bed asked me.

"Me? My name is Sana. Minatozaki Sana."

"Oh, you're that vet. It's nice to meet you I guess. My name is-"

"I already know your name. You're Myoui Mina, correct?"

"How did you know?"

"Pretty sure everyone can recognize that pretty face. I mean, no not like that. I mean yeah you are pretty, but you get what I meant." - Oops, I accidentally did something flirty.

"Haha, thank you for the compliment. I hear you're also Japanese, is that right?"

"Yeah, why? Do you feel more comfortable speaking Japanese?"

"Hm, maybe."

"You know, I used to want to be part of a kpop group." - I randomly said.

"Really? So did I! Life happened though and I went for modeling instead."

We talked about other things, like what it was like when we were living in Japan, and about the things that could have been not just in Japan or Korea, but other parts of the world as well.

After some time Momo regained consciousness. She had her top off as it was only getting in my way when removing the bullet. With a sports bra and a gauze wrapped around her arm, man did this girl look like a complete badass. 

_I mean, she is quite the badass._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, been a while. I feel like I'm getting quite uncreative these days so I get a little frustrated lol. I think the title decently fits in with stuff though. I would like to be less specific but the title just felt right. I would love some feedback from you guys if you feel something could have been done better or stuff lol.
> 
> Oh also yesterday I realized I accidentally made the zombies a bit similar to the ones in Train to Busan in terms of not seeing well in the dark. Sorry about that, I'll change things up a little.
> 
> Hope you guys are liking it. I'm sorry for not updating as often tho oof.
> 
> \- Penguin Tato


	11. Lookin' Kinda Dead

** Tzuyu's POV **

So we took in those three girls, and one of them was wounded by the marauders. I for once decided to not threaten unknown people with death and I was rewarded, as we now have the best vet Seoul by our side. You might ask why this even matters, well you see vets are actually pretty good at improvising their equipment since they don't always have the appropriate tools for the animals they treat. Her ability to improvise was demonstrated when she asked us for the pressure cooker. None of us would have thought of that if I'm honest. I'm glad we helped them. I may have been on the baseball team, but I love animals so I kinda look up to this woman.

It's pretty late, and I'm starting to feel a bit tired, but I refuse to fall asleep while on watch. I then heard the door to the balcony open.

"When are you planning on eating? I brought food, do you want some?"

"No thanks unnie, I'm good. Not really hungry lately." - I said, to which she rolled her eyes. 

"I shouldn't have even given you an option. I know you have been skipping meals since we met and not sleeping much. "

"Your point?"

"Tzuyu, you're the most reliable one here in terms of strength and reflexes, so you should try to stay healthy. If not for yourself, then for us. What will we do if something goes wrong because you're out of it from skipping meals and sleep? That Momo girl looks like she knows what she's doing, but she's injured. Jeongyeon is good, but not as good as you. I'm giving you an order as an unnie, eat this food Chou Tzuyu." **  
**

"If I'm the strongest why should I take orders from you?" - I taunted her. Nayeon wasn't having it, the look she gave me genuinely made me scared for my safety. Then my stomach growled, which made her stare intensify.

"I suppose you have nothing left to say so I'll be leaving no-" - I hastily snatched the food from her hands before she went inside.

"O-Only because you told me to." - I said, which left Nayeon smirking. 

"If you say so."

** Nayeon's POV **

Tzuyu worries me sometimes. She hasn't been getting enough sleep since we met her, and she has additionally been skipping meals often. All she's been doing ever since Mina got injured is keep an eye out from the balcony, and I don't know if it's her way of coping or something but it had to stop. I decided I'd go up to the balcony with some _good_ food. If my plan failed I would have had Chaeyoung make her since she would most definitely listen then. But it worked so nothing to worry about.

"You're only allowed to be up here for a few more minutes.."

"Why?"

"Jeongyeon is taking a nap right now. She'll come up to the balcony and keep an eye out so you can sleep."

"I don't wanna sleep."

"Are you kidding me Tzuyu? You look dead, you really need some sleep. As I said before, no buts." - I said, to which she frowned. I don't get why she's putting her body through so much stress right now. Knowing her so far, she's probably gonna bring up the fact that I previously said Jeongyeon wasn't as good as her which, being totally honest, is not a good argument.

"A little while ago you said I'm the best though. Why should I sleep when I can be doing my job."

Bingo.

Someone then opened the door.

"We never really appointed it as your job, you did it yourself. I will say this though, go get some sleep Tzuyu. I don't want you overworking yourself." 

"But Yoo..."

"No buts, I've got it from here. It's pretty fucking empty outside anyways."

Tzuyu tried to keep arguing but seeing how stern Jeongyeon was being, she decided not to and headed inside. I didn't head back in as I wanted to keep Jeongyeon company. She actually gets slight panic attacks when she's alone these days so I try to keep her by my side.

"Nayeon."

"Yes?"

"Do you remember last year, how I went to the police academy and then decided a few months later to come back to college instead?"

"Yeah, I do. Why do you ask?"

"I said I came back because you begged me to, but that wasn't the full reason."

"Is that so? Then what was it?"

"I hated the idea of having to follow through orders even if it was wrong. The day everything happened, the police were in chaos. Some shot anything that moved, others abandoned their duties and tried to leave citizens to rot, and the few who were doing what was morally right were killed by police and agitated citizens alike." - I could see both sadness and rage well up in her as she said this.

"This might be selfish, but I'm very glad you left. If you met the same faith as them, I would have been broken."

"I'm also glad. Plus, when I ask for a gun I actually know how to shoot it."

"Okay, we don't talk about me not having known how to shoot a gun, Jeong."

** Dahyun's POV **

I've been waiting around in the living room for what seems like forever, and all I've been doing the whole time is pacing back and forth.

"You're the reporter by the name of 'Kim Dahyun' right? I haven't really introduced myself, I'm Park Jihyo." 

"Oh, r-right. Nice to meet you Jihyo, if you don't mind me calling you that." - She nodded and I went back to pacing right after.

"Dahyun, come have a seat." - She said, and I complied. She stared at me for a while, almost looking sorry for me.

"I'm sorry you had to see this mess unravel. Our phones had signal this whole time (although currently, we're in an area with poor signal, hence the use of the walkies), so I watched the news when I was in safety. It looked truly terrifying."

"It was. I had no idea what was going on or what would happen to me, but that woman that got injured is Momo, and she saved me and Minatozaki Sana from what happened and has been keeping us alive." 

"Is that why you're so nervous?"

"I guess so. She may have been a government agent, but I have never met anyone who cares that much for people they just met. I feel guilty about the fact that she's injured."

"I'm not sure if this is of much comfort, but I don't think you should feel guilty. Momo chose to protect you both by her own will, so don't beat yourself up."

_I'm the one that insisted we take this route though. We were tired and we could get to our destination faster if we went through here._

"Anyways, Chaeyoung is sleeping on the couch across from ours as you can see, so I say feel free to go see Sana and Momo."

"Isn't there another girl in there though?"

"Oh, Mina? Don't worry about her. I just mentioned Chaeyoung cause she had been extremely protective over who entered the room ever since Mina was injured. She only let Nayeon in at some point."

"What's that about?"

"I would explain details but it's a long story, besides, you should go see your friends."

And so I listened. I went to the room and knocked on the door, then entered. Momo seemed to be awake already and Sana was chatting with both of them in Japanese.

_Oh, that Mina._

"Dahyun, look! Sana patched me up and I feel so much better now! I think I deserve something, something like jokbal!"

"Haha, if I had jokbal to hand out, you'd be the first one on my list." - Momo frowned when she was reminded jokbal isn't even an option currently. I bowed my head to Mina and she did the same.

"We meet again, Ms. Kim."

"Indeed. Still sorry for that one thing."

"What one thing??" - Sana asked. I guess she didn't expect us to have met each other before. But of course, I'm a reporter specializing in pandemics and health issues. Why would we have met each other?

"Are you saying you never knew, Sana?" - Mina asked. I mean it was all over the place.

"No, what do you mean?"

"Oh, well...The big scandal Mina had that accused her of allegedly dating a female soloist a few years back, that happened when I was a rookie reporter. I was the one that was tasked with reporting on that and speaking with Mina about it. After reporting about it to my boss, they added in false information because they didn't like the results of the report. They nearly destroyed both Mina's and that solo artists' careers."

"Damn, I'm really sorry for both of you."

"It's fine. I was actually meeting up with the soloist, not because of her but because of her friend. If I knew the world would turn out like this, I would have been so open about so many things."

"Wait wait wait, is this your coming out?"

"Not exactly?"

_Well, glad I didn't find that out and actually ruin her career._

** Tzuyu's POV **

I was gonna rest in the other room since no one has been occupying it and the sofa really just does no good to my muscles. I passed the living room and noticed Jihyo sitting on one couch and Chaeyoung was on the other one sleeping. I felt bad for her since at the start of it she would complain of feeling uncomfortable when we didn't have beds to sleep on. I went up to her and tried to carefully lift her up, thankfully, she didn't wake up at all.

"Holy shit, you feel heavier than you actually are." - I murmured.

"Tzuyu, you okay there? Do you need any help?"

"N-No don't worry Jihyo, I got this."

She wasn't that heavy, just more than I expected. Or maybe I really do need rest. After putting her on the bed, I laid down on the other side as this room only had one bed. Not really a problem though since we've had to share a bed before.

I was way too tired to fall asleep, but one final thought went through my head before falling asleep. It was that we have to move out soon. Earlier I had actually seen some people who seemed to be from the same bunch as the ones that attacked those girls, so that's not a good sign. 

_But no need to overthink it right now. I just wanna sleep._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, took me longer than 12 hours cause I had actually been working on something in Discord lol. But here it is. I have to right more Jihyo POVs since I noticed I only have like two smh. 
> 
> Hope you guys are enjoying this, and that you are having sweet summer days unlike me lol. It's been way too hot and I'm not allowed to use the ac.
> 
> \- Penguin Tato


	12. Bets Go Well With Alcohol

** Chaeyoung's POV **

I had only stepped out of the room with the plan to eat and maybe just sit on something more comfortable than a wooden chair, but I ended up falling into a deep sleep. If there were two of me, I would likely be scolding myself right now for leaving Mina unattended. But I was the only me, and I was asleep. Not for long though.

I fluttered my eyes open and was on what felt like a bed. The room was really dark so it took my eyes a bit to adjust, and then I saw something laying right next to me, its eyes fixed on mine. I screamed without thinking twice, which caused everyone except Jeongyeon and the ones who were injured to run to the room.

"Stop screaming short ass, my head is pounding enough already." - The figure said. It was Tzuyu and she looked extremely tired.

"What's wrong Chaeyoung??!" - Jihyo came in shouting, to which Tzuyu covered her ears with a pillow. I turned on the lamp by the bed.

"You guys should shut the hell up. If we were staying anywhere else, we would have already been overrun because of you guys."

"Geez, what's with you?" - I asked her.

"I'm stressed, that's what. I'm trying to keep everyone safe, _especially you_...but what do you do? Oh right, trying to save a platonic crush, putting everyone here at risk for the sake of god knows what." - She said and got up from the bed.

"Tzuyu, we already talked about this. Mina is okay now, she presents no threat anymore. And if you need to see her to believe it, I can take you to the-"

"Just go to sleep cub. I don't think I should even have to argue about caring for you." - She didn't let me finish. She really just stepped out of the room, before she would listen to what I had to say until I was done. Wow, what happened to you, Chou Tzuyu??

Nayeon squeezed through Jihyo, Sana, and Dahyun, who were all at the door. She approached the bed and sat at the foot of it.

"I've got it from here, you girls go get some more rest." - She said, to which Jihyo nodded and left, the other two following her and shutting the door behind them.

"Chaeyoung, I really think you should have a talk with Tzuyu...she's been very upset."

"Why should I? She wanted to kill Mina when she knew Mina was bitten."

"Okay, but to be fair she never drew her guns or combat knife at you guys, not to mention you guys have been friends for a long time. You, on the other hand, pointed your gun at her. I think you at least owe her an apology, Chaeyoung. Also, I should let you know that she hasn't been sleeping or eating much." - I frowned at that. She had been doing this since the first days, but I was able to convince her to actually sleep and eat enough. It's so weird that she suddenly did this again, she promised she wouldn't. Tzuyu never breaks promises...

"But I already told you I wasn't gonna-"

"Chaeyoung, please. You told me that, but did you tell Tzuyu? Look I really don't like being like this, but you really need to get your head out of your ass. This is not a time to be fighting like this, we are in the middle of a zombie apocalypse for fuck's sake."

"Alright fine, I'll talk to her. But not now, I need to go check on Mina."

"Geez cub, if you keep getting THAT concerned over her, I'm gonna start believing Tzuyu about you having a crush on her." - I rolled my eyes and got up from the bed, walking away and leaving her alone.

** Jihyo's POV **

Tzuyu stayed on the couch for a while without saying much, but then she suddenly got up and was headed to the balcony, but stopped in her tracks only to stare at that door. There was a frustrated yet sad look in her eyes, and she let out a heavy sigh before she continued walking.

Even though I don't know these girls well, it hurts to see everyone so tensed up. Like I get it, but I mean specifically the fact that they're tensed up over other things when we should be worried about leaving more than anything. Especially since I see a few of those things wandering into this area lately, along with some marauders lurking about.

"I hope the injured are up for moving out soon" - I mumbled.

"What was that, Jihyo?" - Jeongyeon, who had just arrived to the living room said.

"Oh, it's uh...Jeongyeon, you didn't happen to see any of those things lingering around after you covered for Tzuyu, did you?" - I asked her. Her eyes widened just a little, and she looked around in case anyone else was listening.

"Well, I know earlier I told Tzuyu it looked pretty empty, but I did spot a few actually. They didn't see me though since I had the balcony light off all night, plus the fact that they were kind of lurking rather than wandering openly."

"Why didn't you shoot them??"

"Are you kidding me? I'm not wasting ammo when they could potentially just be passing by, besides, it's Tzuyu's gun, not mine."

She does have a point. 

"So anyways, what's up with Tzuyu? I thought a goodnight sleep would help her terrible mood brighten up at least a bit." - I sighed as I looked out the window at something beyond us.

"Oh, Jeongyeon. Lack of sleep isn't the thing to blame for her terrible mood. In fact, I think her terrible mood is the one to blame for lack of sleep."

"So they still haven't talked..."

///

I knocked on the door and was received by Dahyun. It was now 7 PM, which means the sun was starting to set. Tzuyu, Jeongyeon and Nayeon had gone out to look for things we might need when we're on the move again, but they made sure to stay within the area since we didn't really know just how safe this area has remained. They took Nayeon solely so she can get more used to shooting a gun without screaming.

When I entered the room, I sighed as I took a seat on the wooden chair next to the small table. It was Mina, Dahyun, Sana and Momo. Chaeyoung was on the balcony taking Tzuyu's place for now, which she actually volunteered to do once they said they were heading out for a little.

"So, I don't know if anyone has told you yet, but according to Jeongyeon who was on watch, there's been undead wandering into the area, although they're hard to spot because they've apparently been lurking. I'm also pretty sure I caught a glimpse of some people the other day when I was up on the balcony with Tzuyu, likely the same people that attacked Dahyun's group."

"So what are you trying to say?" - Momo asked me, expecting me to elaborate on what she already knows I mean.

"We need to move out asap. Not sure to where, but this place won't be safe for long."

** Jeongyeon's POV **

Tzuyu casually asked me to go out on a walk with her today. Now, who the hell takes walks out during a zombie apocalypse, am I right? Well, it wasn't an ordinary walk. Tzuyu wanted to check out the area and maybe take out the garbage lurking around. We're checking out a few stores at the moment. It's relatively safe compared to many other places so we concluded we should take Nayeon so she can practice shooting without screaming and nearly dropping the gun. I must say though, she's doing very well today.

"She's getting better at shooting, Yoo."

"Yeah, I know I'm the best."

"Wow Nayeon, that was such a funny joke. Anyways, what are we doing here Tzuyu?"

"Alcohol."

"Geez, if you wanted to drink we could have just drank the soju or the wine we have in the house."

"It's not for that, stupid."

"Then for what?"

"Molotovs."

"Wait, what is that again?" - Our clueless little bunny asked.

"Are you serious Nayeon? I guess you weren't actually paying attention when I'd play video games." - I said. They both ignored me and just continued looking around.

"So why exactly are we suddenly interested in molotovs?"

"Chill with the questions. We can never know when we'll need them, Yoo."

_I mean she does have a point._

///

"So, what's the plan?" - Nayeon asked to anyone who would answer.

"There's a police station maybe 30 minutes away from here walking. We can go there." - Momo responded.

"Won't those things be there though?"

"Very little of them. Too many officers were trying to control the situation in town."

"Oh okay. Why do you guys have a map though?"

"Well, apparently whole areas have horrible signal now. I used to work around here often but the signal was always great."

_Better not lose the map then._

We decided that we're moving out tomorrow in the end. Everyone was visibly anxious as the police station was pretty close to a school, which as we learned, would be a hotspot right now given the fact that the outbreak happened as students were returning from lunch. Nobody was able to sleep peacefully, I mean, who could? We were moving into a danger zone with the promise of a better place to stay due to weapons and defenses. 

Entering a bet with our lives, but we should get used to it now, shouldn't we?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haiiiiii! I'm so sorry to my lovely readers that I took so long to update! Writing block got me real good and I just couldn't think straight for some time on how to continue this. But thankfully, I am back and with a good amount of creation again! :D
> 
> I hope you guys are enjoying this! Also, I might release another book soon cause I'm impatient lmao. Oh btw it's gonna be a kinda confusing one, y'alls are gonna have to put the pieces together, but I'll have the MC keep notes so it's easier lol.
> 
> \- Penguin Tato

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, hope you're all doing well! So, as some of you might know, I decided to start this work a few months back, and well I was rather unsatisfied with it honestly. I decided to revise and rewrite with a (I'd say) significantly better story, as things felt too easy for the main characters in the first version.
> 
> I really hope you guys enjoy reading this! It took me quite a bit to get back at it lmao.


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